Tall warm-season hibiscus relative reaching 3 m or more, grown as an annual for bast fibre and woody core fibre. Increasingly grown as a fast-renewable substitute for wood pulp in paper.
Hardiness ratings
| System | Rating | Temperature range | How to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDA hardiness zone | Zone 8–11 | −12.2 °C to 10 °C | Zones where it can be grown as an annual — not a frost-tolerance rating |
| RHS hardiness rating | H2 | 1 °C to 5 °C | Plant needs at least this level of cold tolerance |
| Canadian plant hardiness zone | Zone 9 | −1 °C and warmer | Zones where it can be grown as an annual — not a frost-tolerance rating |
| Australian (ANBG) zone | Zone 4–7 | 0 °C and warmer | Zones where it can be grown as an annual — not a frost-tolerance rating |
As a tender annual, Kenaf doesn't overwinter — the zone range shows where the growing season supports it. See the RHS rating for its actual cold tolerance.
Growing notes
- Two distinct fibres are produced from one stem — bast fibre from the outer stem (similar to jute) and shorter core fibre from the inner stem (used as a pulp substitute)
- Reaches harvest height in around 150 days — one of the fastest sources of usable plant fibre and increasingly grown for sustainable paper pulp
- Frost-tender — strictly a warm-season crop
- Tolerates a wider range of soils than jute and is therefore being trialled as a jute replacement in parts of Africa and the Americas
Categories
Related plants
Cross-check Kenaf against your zones